Warp-winding from cakes



Dec. 19, 195Q P J s, CHAYA r 2,534,339

WARP-WINDING FROM CAKES Filed April 4, 1944 INVENTORS.

2d e I ."Tii BY M 4. m

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 19, 1950 WARP-WINDING FROM CAKES John S. Chaya,Springfield, and William L. Spann, Boothwyn, Pa., assignors to AmericanViscose Corporation, Wilmington, Dcl., a corporation of DelawareApplication April 4, 1944, Serial No. 529,448

12 Claims. ((31. 242-130) This invention relates to an improvedapparatus for warping filamentary material such as thread,

yarn, or the like. More particularly the invention relates to apparatusfor directly warping filamentary material collected in a spinning pot inthe form of a package having a cylindrical inner periphery, wherein thematerial is unwound over the ends of a multiplicity of such packagesmounted in stationary position on a creel and directly fed to thewarp-beam.

In some methods of producing artificial yarn, thread or the like, as forexample in accordance with the viscose process, the material iscollected in a spinning pot or bucket in the form of an annular packagehaving a cylindrical inner perlphery and known as a cake. It isdesirable to warp the material directly from such cakes, in order toavoid undue handling of the thread which presents added opportunity forbreaks to occur, thus increasing the possibility that the warpedmaterial will possess imperfections such as knots due to pieced ends andalso increasing the manufacturing costs as a result of waste, and inorder to efiect a reduction in the amount of time and labor required inpreparing the material for the textile mills.

However, in order to produce a satisfactory warp beam, and avoid varyingdegrees of stretching along the length of the yarn wound thereon,

the thread must be unwound from package form and fed to the warp beamunder conditions of substantially constant and uniform tension. Greatdifliculty has been experienced, heretofore, in unwinding the freshlyspun material from the cake obtained from the spinning bucket under suchuniform and constant tension conditions, especially when the unwindingoperation is effected at high speed. The freshly spun cakes comprise aplurality of layers of thread superimposed on each other, which may bemore or less irregularly wound and which, at high speed, have a tendencynot to be evenly and cleanly drawn 011, the material unwinding from thesurface of the package having a tendency to balloon irregularly so thatthe unwinding loops jam up and become entangled or snarled, thussubjecting the unwinding thread, at some points thereof, to unduetension or drag.

In the common method of warping artificial filamentary materialinitially obtained in the form of a cake from a spinning pot or bucket,therefore, it is the practice to rewind the material from the cake formon to a plurality of cones, and to then-feed the material to thewarp-beam from the regularly wound cone-packages mounted on a creel.

It has been suggested to' rotatably support a plurality of rayon cakeson a specially constructed creel and unwind the material tangentiallyfrom the cakes, at right angles to their axes, dependence being placedon the tangential pull of the unwinding material to effect rotation.That method may be useful for certain purposes, but it is entirelyunsuitable for practical use in large scale warping where extremely highoperating speeds are an essential requirement because, as the cakerotates, the yarn is subjected to a constant jerking action which, athigh operating speeds, causes uncontrollable variations of tension, andthus of stretching, in the unwinding thread and leads to frequent breakstherein. Further, the use of such rotated cakes in high speed warpinghas the disadvange that if operation of the warp beam is interruptedtemporarily for any reason, the rotation of the cakes, and unwinding ofmaterial therefrom, continues and the loosened or unwound loops ofmaterial build up and become tangled, which necessitates discarding aconsiderable quantity of thread.

Moreover, it is impossible to transfer warp ends from one rotatingpackage to another without twisting and tangling the thread and hencerotating packages are not suitable for use with creels of the magazinetype, such as are preferred for large scale warping operations.

One object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for directlywarping artificial filamentary material under controlled tension from amultiplicity of rayon cakes obtained by collecting the freshly-spunmaterial in a spinning pot or bucket. Another object of the invention isto facilitate high-speed warping of artificial filamentary material fromsuch rayon cakes without the steps of unwinding the material from thecakes initially obtained and re-winding it on cones, prior to thewarping operation. Another object of the invention is to provide a novelholder for supporting a cake of yarn or thread and I adapted to fit thecone-holders of standard cone creels without requiring mechanical orother change therein.

Another object is to feed yarns or the like directly to a warp-beam overthe ends of a plurality of cakes supported on the novel holders mountedon a standard cone creel.

Another object is to effectively control the tension of the yarn orthread unwinding over the ends of the cakes and traveling tothewarp-beam. Another object is to reduce the chances for breaks tooccur and thus reduce the number of imperfections in the yarn wound onthe warp-beam. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

'Ihe invention will be readily understood from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawing, in which D Figure 1 is anisometricyiew of a package holder constructed in accordance with ourinvention;

Figure 2 is a view, in cross-section, of the holder of our inventionhavinga rayon cake supported thereon; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of two elements of a conventional creel andwarp-beam set up, the creel having mounted thereon supported rayon cakesin accordance with our invention.

I Broadly, the new package holder which constitutes one feature of ourinvention, comprises a hollow member having a tapered inner surfaceadapted to grip a cone-shaped holder, such as the holder of a standardcone creel, and a member surrounding at least a portion of saidcone-shaped member and having a cylindrical exterior surface forsupporting a supply package in the form of a cake, obtained bycollecting filamentary material in a spinning pot or bucket. The holdermay also include a member associated with the hollow interiorlytaperedmember and adapted to control the tension by controlling theballooning, of thread or yarn unwinding over the end of the package,when the holder is used to support a rayon cake or the like during anover-end unwinding operation.

Referring more particularly to Figure l, the new package holder maycomprise an outer cylindrical shell I mountedon a circular aperturedbase plate 2 and surrounding a hollow inner cone 3 which is fitted intoand projects axially from the centrally disposed aperture in base plate2. Cone 3 is adapted to fit over and grip a standard type of cone holder4 and is preferably provided at its smaller end with an inturned annularportion 3a presenting a cylindrical internal surface or bore extendingaxially of the cone a substantial distance. Rigid reinforcing membersSand 1 are fitted between the outside surface of cone 3 and the insidesurface of shell l. An annular recess 8 may be formed between the shelland cone as shown or the member 6 may be fiush with the end of the shellI. The axial length of shell I is shown considerably less than thecorresponding length of the cone 3. However, the shell may be evenshorter than shown or it may be fully as long as the cone or evensomewhat longer. When it approaches the length of the cone or is ofgreater length than the cone, it is preferable that the member 6 bedisposed some distance within the end of the shell so that an annularrecess is provided about the cone similar to that shown in Figures 1 and2. It is preferable to use a shell having a length less than that of thecone since such a holder is adaptable for supporting cakes having axiallengths within a wide range of sizes. The tension controlling meanscomprises a guide it spaced axially from the cake and an annular guidingsurface which may take the form of an edge or rim of a plate In whichmay be of any form or shape, but must have a diameter at least as greatas,

surface of the annular portion 3a of cone 3, and serves to retain thecover firmly in place on the holder during an unwinding operation. CoverI0 is also provided with a knob I 3 to facilitate removal andreplacement thereof on the holder.

.As shown in Figure 2, the rayon cake Ii may be supported on the holderby placing the same over shell I. A flexible cuff 9 which may be vof anysuitable material such as vulcanized fiber, cellulose or the like, maybe inserted between shell I and the cake and, due to its ability tocontract or expand as required, it automatically adapts the holder touse with otherwise unsupported packages or cakes of any diameter. Duringwarping, the cakes of rayon, which may be wrapped in the usualprotective fabric sleeve 20, are placed upon the cake-holdersconstructed in accordance with the invention and mounted on aconventional creel II as shown in Figure 3. The protective fabric isunfolded from the outside of the cake and one end of the fabric istucked into annular recess 8, while the other end of the fabric isfolded around and back of circular base plate 2. The yarn or thread I5is led off over the end of each cake, guided around and over the edge ofmember In and thence through the guide iii. The guide is adjustable asshown at 2|. The strands from a multiplicity of cakes are carried to awarp-beam II, on which they are wound in the usual manner.

As the yarn or thread is unwound and led over the end of the cake, ittends to balloon out between the cake and guide [3. A certain amount ofsuch ballooning is permissible and even desirable, since it preventsundue tension or pull on the yarn unwinding from the surface of the cakeand traveling to the warp-beam. However, ballooning is often irregular,due to irregularities in the windings comprising the cake, and, further,such irregularity is apt to become excessive as the diameter of the cakedecreases during the unwinding of the yarn from the surface thereof, oras the result of other variations in the unwinding conditions; Suchirregular ballooning must be avoided during warping of the thread inorder to ensure constant and uniform tension of the unwinding yarn, andto prevent the yarn from becoming entangled and thus broken andpreferably greater than, the outside diameter of the supply package, sothat it projects outwardly with respect thereto. As shown, the tensioncontrolling guiding member Ill takes the form of a dished or cuppedcover centered with respect to cone 3 having an outer rim projectingbackwardly over cake ll. Cover 10 is provided with retaining means l2which projects into and is held by frictional engagement in the internalor otherwise damaged. Member In which preferably has a diameter greaterthan the outside diameter of the rayon cake, and which may be of anyshape but preferably projects back over the feeding end of the cake,especially in the case of cakes consisting of heavy yarns, serves as athread guiding and tension controlling means and minimizes any tendencyto irregular or excessive ballooning oi the unwinding yarn so thatrun-out drag is substantially non-existent and the tension on the threador yarn is maintainedsubstantially uniform throughout the entireunwinding and warping operation.

The invention offers a distinct improvement in the usual methods ofpreparing yarn or the like produced according to the viscose process foruse as the warp of a woven material in subsequent textile operations,since it permits high speed warping directly from the cake initiallyobtained by after-treating and drying in cake form the freshly spunmaterial collected in a spinning pot, and avoids entirely thenecessityfor coning the material prior to warping the same.

The package holder of our invention may be adapted for use with creelsof any type in which the unwinding packages are stationary and may beused in any desired position such as horizontal or vertical and ineither of such positions the yarn or thread may be unwound over eitherthe top or bottom end of the package. The method of warping and thenovel package holder of our invention are particularly suitable for usein connection with creels of the magazine type where the yarn may be fedcontinuously in succession over the ends of stationary rayon cakes, theinside end of the feeding yarn or thread of one cake being attached tothe outside end of the yarn of a reserve cake as shown at I! in Figure3. As shown there the cake-holders are supported in a plurality'ofpairs, the axes of each cake in i a pair being disposed so that theyconverge, and the guide it which cooperates therewith is disposed sothat it is adjustable along the blsectrix of the angle between the twoconverging axes of the pair.

The over-end unwinding from non-rotating packages permits high operatingspeeds without undue tension in the yarn and the yarn may be unwoundover the ends of the cakes and continuously fed to the warp-beam atlineal speeds of 300 to 350 yards per minute or more under controlledtension and ballooning conditions and with a minimum of breaks. Due toelimination of the step of intermediately transferring the yarn to acone-shaped package, when it is obtained in the form of a cake from aspinning pot or bucket, the amount of handling to which the yarn issubjected is substantially reduced and as a consequence the warped yarnis of better quality and has fewer knots due to pieced ends, for anygiven length thereof, than has ordinarily been the-case.

The apparatus of our invention may be used in the warping of natural orartificial filamentary material, such as yarn or thread consisting ofcotton, hemp, etc., or consisting of regenerated cellulose obtained fromviscose, cuprammonium or nitrocellulose; cellulose esters such ascellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, and mixed cellulose esters suchas cellulose acetatebutyrate; cellulose ethers such as ethyl and benzylcellulose; fibroin, casein, and other protein threads, linear polymerssuch as nylon; etc.

Although the package holder is shown and described herein moreparticularly in combination with a thread-guiding and tensioncontrolling means, and as used for supporting a rayon cake or the likeduring a direct cake to warpbeam unwinding operation, and is of specialadvantage for that purpose, it is not limited to such use but may beused in coning, copping,

doubling, reeling, or any other textile operation where it is desired tosupport a package in the form of a cake, in any position from verticalto horizontal, and with or without the thread tension and "ballooncontrolling means.

Changes and modifications may be made in the device specificallyillustrated in the drawing. For example, the thread-guiding and tensioncontrolling member iil may be of any form or shape provided its diameteris as great as or greater than the outer diameter of the supply packageof filamentary material. Obviously, also, it may be associated with theholder and maintained in place thereon during the unwinding and warpingoperation, in any convenient manner. All such changes and modificationsare within the scope of the above-described invention which is not to belimited except as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A package holder for annular wound packages of filamentary materialand suitable for use in warping from cakes, said holder comprising abase having an opening therethrough, a hollow member projecting from theopening and having an intemai surface tapering inwardly from the base, amemberhaving a generally cylindrical outer surface projecting from thebase and surrounding at least a portion of the hollow member adjacent tothe base, the inner surface of the second member being removed from theouter surface of the first member to provide an annular recess betweenthe surfaces adjacent the end thereof away from the base, andreinforcing means arranged within and constituting the bottom wall ofthe recess rigidly connecting the hollow member and the membersurrounding the hollow member together.

2. A package holder for annular wound packages of filamentary materialand suitable for use in warping from cakes, said holder comprising abase having an opening therethrough, a hollow member projecting from theopening and having an internal surface tapering inwardly from theportion in proximity to the base, a member having a generallycylindrical outer surface projecting from the base and surrounding saidhollow member but having an axial length less than said hollow member toprovide a space between the outer surface of the hollow member and theinner surface of the member surrounding the hollow member adjacent theend thereof away from the base, and reinforcing means arranged withinthe space between said members for rigidly connecting them together.

3. A package holder for annular wound pack ages of filamentary materialand suitable for use in warping from cakes, said holder comprising abase having an opening therethrough, a hollow member projecting from theopening and having an internal surface tapering inwardly from theportion in proximity to the base, a member having a generallycylindrical outer surface projecting from the base and surrounding saidhollow member but having an axial length less than said hollow member,and reinforcing means arranged within the space between the first andsecond members for rigidly connecting them together, said reinforcingmeans being arranged at a point removed from the upper periphery of saidsecond member and definingthe lower limit of an annular recess formedbetween the first and second members.

4. A package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes comprising ahollow member having a generally tapered inner surface, a membersurrounding at least a portion of said hollow member and having agenerally cylindrical outer surface for supporting a package offilamentary material, and a member positioned adjacent the smaller endof said hollow member and having centrally disposed means for engagementtherewith, said member extending outwardly and transversely of saidholder and presenting a generally annular thread-guiding surface forguiding and controlling the tension of filamentary material unwindingover the end of a supply package thereof supported on said holder.

5. A package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes comprising abase having a centrally disposed opening therethrough, a hollow memberhaving a generally tapered inner surface positioned in said opening andprojecting axially therefrom. a member surrounding at least a porage offilamentary material, and a member positioned adjacent the smaller endof said hollow member and having centrally disposed means for engagementtherewith, said member presenting a generally annular thread-guidingsurface extending outwardly and transversely of said holder for guidingand controlling the tension of filamentary material unwinding over theend of a supply package thereof supported on said cylindrical surface.

6. A package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes comprising abase having a centrally disposed opening therethrough, a hollow memberhaving a generally tapered inner surface and provided at its smaller endwith an annular inturned portion presenting an inner generallycylindrical surface extending axially of said hollow member asubstantialdistance, said hollow member being positioned in said openingand projecting axially therefrom, a member surrounding at least aportion of said hollow member and having a generally cylindrical outersurface for supporting a package of filamentary material, and a memberpositioned adjacent the smaller end of said hollow member and havingcentrally disposed means for engagement therewith, said memberpresenting a generally annular threadguiding surface extending outwardlyand transversely of said holder for guiding filamentary materialunwinding over the end of a supply package thereof supported on saidholder away from the surface of the package under substantially constanttension.

7. Apparatus for use in warping from cakes comprising means forunwinding filamentary material over the end of a supply package thereof,comprising a hollow member having a generally tapered inner surface, amember surrounding at least a portion of said hollow member and having Ta generally cylindrical outer surface, a supply package of filamentarymaterial supported on said cylindrical surface, and a member positionedadjacent the smaller end of said hollow member and having centrallydisposed means for engagement therewith, said member presenting agenerally annular thread-guiding surface extending outwardly andtransversely of said supply package for guiding the filamentary materialaway from the supply package under substantially constant tension duringunwinding thereof from the surface of said package.

8. Apparatus for use in warping from cakes comprising means forunwinding filamentary material over the end of a supply package thereof,comprising a base having an aperture therein, a hollow member having agenerally tapered inner surface positioned in said aperture d projectingaxially therefrom, a member surroifiding at least a portion of saidhollow mem r and having a generally cylindrical outer surface, a supplypackage of filamentary material supported on said cylindrical surface,and a member positioned adjacent the smaller end of said hollow memberand material over the end of a supply package thereof comprising a basehaving an opening therethrough, a hollow member having a generallytapered inner surface and provided at its smaller end with an intumedportion presenting a generally cylindrical inner surface extendingaxially of said hollow member a substantial distance, said hollow memberbeing positioned in said opening and projecting axially therefrom, amember surrounding at least a portion of saidhollow member and having agenerally cylindrical outer surface,

a supply package of filamentary material supportedon said cylindricalsurface, a member posihaving centrally disposed means for engagementtioned adjacent the smaller end of said hollow member an havingcentrally disposed means for engageme t therewith, said memberpresenting a generally annular thread-guiding surface extendingoutwardly and transversely of said supply package for guiding thefilamentary material away from the supply package under substantiallyconstant tension conditions during unwinding thereof from the surface ofsaid package.

10. A package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes comprising ahollow member having a generally tapered inner surface adapted tos..pport the holder on the conical supporting element of a conventionalcone creel, said tapered surface terminating in an aperture at thelarger end thereof for admitting said conical element, a member fixedlysecured to and surrounding said hollow member and having a generallycylindrical outer surface for supporting a package of filamentarymaterial, an annular recess between the outer surface of the hollowmember and the inner surface of the member surrounding the hollowmember, said recess being adjacent to and extending to the end of thehollow member having the sma lest inside diameter, and a centrallyapertured circular base plate secured to the other end of said hollowmember and having an outer annular portion projecting outwardly from thecylindrical outer surface of the member which surrounds the hollowmember, said annular portion lying in a plane at right angles to saidcylindrical outer surface.

11. A package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes comprising ahollow member having a generally tapered inner surface adapted tosupport the holder on the conical supporting element of a conventionalcone creel, said tapered surface terminating in an aperture at thelarger end thereof for admitting said conical element, a rigid shellsurrounding at least a=portion of said hollow member and having aseamless or unbroken cylindrical outer surface for supporting a packageof filamentary material, a concentric member detachably connected withsaid holder, at one end thereof, and extending radially outwardly andtransversely thereof and presenting a generally annular thread-guidingsurface and controlling the tension of filamentary material unwindingover the end of a supply package thereof supported on said holder, and acentrally apertured circular base plate secured to the other end of saidholder and having an outer annular portion projecting radially from thecylindrical outer surface of the member which surrounds the hollowmember, said annular portion lying in a plane at right angles to saidcylindrical outer surface.

12. A hollow package holder suitable for use in warping from cakes andcomprising'a generally tapered inner surface adapted to support theholder on the conical supporting element of a conventional cone creel,said tapered surface terminating in an aperture at the larger endthereof for admitting said conical element, a seamless or unbrokencylindrical outer surface for supporting a package of filamentarymaterial, a concentric member detachably connected with said holder atone end thereof and extendin radially outwardly and transversely thereofand presenting a generally annular thread-guiding surface for guidingand controlling the tension of filamentary material unwinding over theend of a supply package thereof supported on said holder, and acentrally apertured circular base plate secured to the other end of theholder and having an outer annular portion projecting radially outwardlyfrom the cylindrical outer surface, said annular portion lying in aplane at right angles to said cylindrical outer surface.

JOHN S. CHAYA.

WILLIAM L. SPANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number 15 Number 10- UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Streeter July 18,1899 Ashworth Feb. 14, 1905 Moore et al. Dec. 8, 1931 Loncteaux et a1Oct. 8, 1935 Cullin Nov. 14, 1939 Naumann et al. July 22, 1941 McDermott May 12,1942 Lambach Nov. 24, 1942 Kennedy et al Oct. 12, 1943Rosendale Oct. 24, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Feb. 18,1930 France July 10, 1902 Germany Aug. 19, 1927 Germany Mar. 19, 1931France Dec. 7, 1928 France Dec. 12, 1931

